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Jan 27, 2009

Rachel rated it:

It’s not often that I just don’t know what to make of a book, that I just don’t get it. But that is how I feel about Damosel. It is a story of Arthur, Guenivere, Lancelot, etc. told from the perspective of Damosel – the Lady of the Lake, and Twixt - a court dwarf and jester.

The writing is excellent. At two hundered pages, my original thought was that it is intended for a younger audience, but the word craft seemed geared toward adults.

The story of Arthur is told from a More...

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Dec 19, 2008

Jennifer rated it:

Reviewed by Jennifer Rummel for TeensReadToo.com

Damosel plays by the rules.

The Lady of the Lake creates the sword Excalibur for Merlin's new champion. Damosel doesn't like crowds, so when she receives an invitation to Camelot, she sends her cousin, Nimue, instead.

Nimue craves power and she finds herself drawn to Merlin. When Merlin teaches her a powerful spell, she traps him in a cave with magic.

With Merlin out of the picture, Camelot could be i More...

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Nov 18, 2011

robyn rated it:

Avalon-lite, is what this book is. Somehow Spinner managed to keep everything in - possible incest (Arthur/Morgan), technical rape (Uther/Igraine), prolonged infidelity (Gwen/Lance, of course) without making it one jot less a young person's book. I mean to say, she just mentioned it in passing and went on. The whole story is here, really, starting with Arthur claiming Excalibur and going on all the way to his "death," but told in chunks, from two different outside viewpoints, so it all More...

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Apr 09, 2009

Odette rated it:

Honestly, if this book hadn't been so short, I would have stopped reading it after the first twenty pages or so. Though I didn't, it took me a lot longer than it should have to read it, possibly because it was simply uninteresting. It tells the story of King Arthur from the point of view of the Lady of the Lake and a dwarf. Seems like a fine premise to me. Unfortunately, it does this in an incredibly boring way.

The Lady of the Lake spends most of her time away from court, so she More...

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Mar 10, 2009

Allison rated it:

Damosel is the Lady of the Lake. She accepts Merlin's challenge to forge Excaliber, and to watch over Arthur when he is imprisoned by her sly cousin, Nimue. There are also some bits about a Dwarf.

I was dissapointed by this book. I really was expecting more. It read like an introductory manual to the world of King Arthur. The moral was pretty simple- "learn the rules before you break them, which makes you happy but will probably cause some major screw up IE failing Camelot." More...

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Apr 17, 2009

Connie rated it:

This is the Arthurian legend from the fresh perspective of the Lady of the Lake and a 17 year old dwarf named Twixt. Chapters alternate between the first person narratives of the two. Damosel provides the magical perspective in a world that is rapidly losing its magic and Twixt provides 1st person perspective from Arthur's court where he resides as court jester. Set in 6th century Britain this retains the historical elements of the Arthurian legend as well as keeping it magical. I loved it a More...

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Dec 04, 2011

Liss rated it:

Eh. I am a fan of YA fiction, but I hold it to the same standards as any other kind of fiction, and this was possibly the most toothless, uninspiring rendition of the tale of King Arthur as I have ever encountered. The basic framework of the story has been told to death, but there are interesting re-envisionings of it... this wasn't one of them. I read it thinking that the choice of heroine (the ambiguous, un-elaborated-upon Lady of the Lake) would offer a unique perspective, but the framework More...

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Jan 17, 2009

Megan rated it:

There's a lot of wit in this book - I'm not sure some of the other readers have a sense of humor. Although earmarked for young adults, it may require an extra allotment of sophistication from the reader.

DAMOSEL is full of startling images and imaginative takes on a familiar legend. The immediacy of the narrations makes the distant past very immediate.

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Jun 09, 2009

Susan rated it:

Spinner's version of the Arthurian legend is slight and ethereal. A reader with no previous knowledge of the stories is going to have a very hard time piecing together characters and motivations. Narrative duties are shared with Twixt, a dwarf, which adds nothing to the tale. Important events are often related second-hand, robbing them of impact.

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Dec 10, 2008

Lacey rated it:

So, this is hands down the most boring retelling of Arthurian legend I've ever read. It didn't even hit 200 pages, and it took me six weeks to read. I spent a lot of the book wondering why someone had even written it. It doesn't really bring anything new to the Arthurian legend except the first instance in which a court jester has played a part in the story (I think). Although the author's intent in writing this was to make sense of the Lady of the Lake's rather ambiguous role, it would have bee More...

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Dec 31, 2008

Oneheron added it

This book, meant for teens, is a great read for any adult who hankers for new nuggets of the Arthur Legend. Who wouldn't like to know more about the creature who furnished the King his sword? Author Spinner obviously researched well and, there is no doubt, the reader will keep turning pages for her tale well told!

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May 10, 2009

Fashiongirlgoldberg rated it:

I'm not giving it two star because I thought it was an exceptionally horrible book, I'm giving it one star because it was an exceptionally boring book. I couldn't even finish it, and I am some one who almost always finish's books. I really was hoping to get hooked, but on chapter five, I just gave up.

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Nov 03, 2011

Kristen rated it:

I have mixed feelings on this. I liked it well enough, and it was certainly an easy read, but I feel like it could've been... more. I love the premise - that the Lady of the Lake has certain 'rules' and 'rituals' and what not, but I just feel like it should've been fleshed out a great deal more.

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Jun 20, 2011

SarahC rated it:

I am glad to have read this recent addition to the Arthurian literary collection. The strength of Spinner’s writing increases as the story progresses. There are characters of her own making and classic characters somewhat remolded for a fresh interpretation, although much of the story intersects with the common legends of Arthur. I enjoyed the brightness of the character of Damosel, Lady of the Lake. Spinner’s style of writing early in the book captures the young woman with a modern voice, and a More...

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Jan 05, 2009

Patricia rated it:

Good Arthurian legend story, about how the Lady of the Lake makes Excalibur and then how she must promise to help him, particularly after Merlin is imprisoned underground by her cousin Nimue.

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Jan 22, 2009

Brandi Rae rated it:

Interesting, but not the most exciting book. For teens looking for different points of view of King Arthur; it would pair will with Song of the Sparrow by Lisa Ann Sandell.

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Jan 31, 2010

MCPLD Youth Department rated it:

Story of King Arthur's reign, told by the Lady of the Lake and a dwarf court jester.

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Dec 13, 2008

Jenny rated it:

Damosel is the Lady of the Lake in this retelling of the legend of King Arthur.

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Jul 07, 2009

Shanna rated it:

Not a bad fantasy novel set in King Arthur period.

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Nov 27, 2011

Mary rated it:

Read this book with Alex. It was good...the story of King Arthur told from the Lady of the Lake's perspective. It's written in a slightly confusing style...switching from one story teller to another rather abruptly. Took us a few chapters to figure it out, but then it was fine.

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Mar 22, 2009

Angela rated it:

This is a very interesting idea for a story, but it didn't keep my attention. About 1/4 of the way in, I was forcing myself to keep going. By the time I was 1/2 way in, I had skipped several pages several times, hoping I would get more interested in the story. But I didn't. So I'm done forcing myself to keep reading. I didn't really know anything about the Lady of the Lake in the King Arthur legends, other than she was in them. And after reading 1/2 of this book, I still don't really know More...

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Nov 23, 2008

Caitlín rated it:

I liked this better once I realized that there were two narrators and not just a mental author, but it still wasn't that good. Damosel's story was mainly her hearing stories about Arthur, so it told the legend (and of course the most common one of Guinevere and Lancelot's love, and Mordred and Morgan le Fay's betrayal) in a slightly different way.
I would rather that it have been a more original story about the Lady of the Lake, and only have her part in the giving of Excalibur being mentio More...

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Feb 17, 2009

Miss Clark rated it:

Well, neat idea. Nothing much done with it. I would have been far more interested in more about the Ladies of the Lakes and their society and existence and instead we are forced to deal with a paltry retelling of Arthur's tragic story and ugh, did we really need another one of those? No, no we did not. Not recommneded unless you are a Camelot/Arthurian die hard.

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Mar 26, 2011

Jo rated it:

I enjoy Stephanie Spinner's writing. It just felt to far removed from the action for the POV to be the Lady of the Lake. I enjoyed Twixt, and by the end was in love with his character. A reading of Le Morte D'Arthur before reading this book as prior knowledge of the events comes in handy.

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Jun 04, 2011

Leah rated it:

This had the potential to be so good, and had a great opening chapter. And then things went downhill. Downhill into boring Arthurian land of zero character development. About halfway through, Damosel loses all her wits and falls blindly in love with a boring knight, and a boring epilogue details exactly what bitter ends everyone in the legend meets. Alas.

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Feb 01, 2012

Valerie rated it:

I was not overly impressed. Although I think it would be a good story for a ten year old...I felt that it would have been better if the author had not attempted an overview of Malory, but instead had focused on one interesting story and drawn that out.

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Jun 15, 2009

Mary rated it:

Very nice touch--recounts the Arthurian story from the viewpoint of the Lady of the Lake. First person is often annoying but in this book, it works.

Teen or adults.

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Aug 06, 2009

Melissa rated it:

Very light and enjoyable. I did feel like the dwarf's story was awkwardly wedged in at times, but still liked the book very much.

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Mar 16, 2009

Kristen rated it:

A lovely rendition of Arthurian legend through the eyes of the Lady of the Lake. Gives the story a whole different perspective.

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Jun 04, 2011

Eeiko rated it:

I really do not want to read this book. Boring. I'm done.

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